Love the way You Lie
by Lindy Rose
Summary: "Sakura, you know he's not safe. He could snap any day...he could kill you." "I know...but I love him anyway." SasuSaku
1. Part I

**Hey Everybodiez!**

**Today my sister had me listen to the song Love the Way You Lie by Eminem(featuring Rhianna) on YouTube while reading the lyrics and I must admit I was stricken. This just had to be written. It's going to be a short fic though so no worries, it won't significantly delay anything else I'm working on. In fact this story was originally going to be a one-shot buuuuuuut...I'm gonna drag it out.**  
**heheheheheheh. Yes, actually, I am evil. **

**Let me know what you think of this! I've never written SakuraSasuke and I feel this is a very different take on the two of them compared to the work I've read from others. **  
**Thanks for reading!**  
**Sarai**

**P.S LISTEN TO Love the Way You Lie WHILE YOU READ. VERY NICE COMBINATION METHINKS. **

**I don't own Naruto, or any of Eminem's messed up but very interesting songs **

**_I Love the way You Lie  
Part I_**

*x*X*x*

"Sakura, you know he's not safe. He could snap any day...he could kill you."

I sigh and turn away from my friend to pull open the curtains of the front window. My heart stutters a little at who I see out there. It still fills me with awe when I watch this scene, though I see it every day; when I watch my boyfriend, my lover, the killer, the traitor, walking up the steps to our apartment; when I watch him coming home to me. "I know Ino." _I know more than I can ever tell you..._

"But I love him anyway."

*x*X*x*

I see _her _in the doorway and my breathe catches painfully in my throat. She's saying goodbye to that bimbo Yamanaka. I sneer at the blonde as she walks past me down the steps, down my steps. Yamanaka doesn't trust me but that's fine. Nobody does, nobody should. I look back up and see _her_ again, standing at the top of the stairs. My biggest mistake and the only happiness I have left. She looks like an angel in the light, her emerald eyes and ridiculous hair glitter under the sunbeams. I don't trust myself to love her but it feels so right. The feeling is making me stupid.

I jump the rest of the way and she's in my arms. I feel her breath against my neck and for a second I'm at peace.

"Hey..." she breathes, the air skimming across my skin, "welcome home."

When I think I'm going to die she's there. Her life, her existence, is the air I live off of. The moans she makes in the night are my link to sanity. When I'm drowning in my past she takes away the hate. She fills my soul with the only light it can bear. Sakura is my home.

*x*X*x*

"How could you _do _this? Why Sasuke, _why_?"

I watch her crying in front of me. She's beautiful when she's angry, when she's broken in front of me like this. "Sakura, come here."

"No!" A plate flies by my ear. "You're sick! I hate you!" A chair hurtles towards me. I catch it and throw it into the wall where it explodes into broken bits of wood.

"Sakura! Come here." I command her this time but instead she turns and grabs the handle of the front door.

I'm beside her with her wrist in my hand before she can finish turning the knob. "Where do you think you're going?"

She glares up at me, angry tears in her green eyes. "I'm leaving you."

I pull her closer. I'm sure I'm bruising her wrist but I don't care. "No you're not."

She pounds on my chest with her tiny, free fist. She doesn't put any chakra into it though; she knows she'll lose against me. I make her feel helpless in a way no one else can. "You can't make me stay." I can hear her voice crack; she's really crying now but she won't look at me, doesn't want me to see that weakness. She wants me to see her as strong; she doesn't know she's what gives me the strength to live.

I look down at the woman I love; the only person I can bring myself to care about. "I don't have to."

I feel her body stiffen with outrage and I can almost hear her reconsidering _really_ hitting me. I love her defiance. "Why would I stay?"

I tilt her head up and make her look into my eyes. "Because you love me." My mouth covers hers and she forgets leaving, forgets everything but me.

*x*X*x*

I stare at the table with a black and scarlet glare. The ghosts of my past weakness came back to haunt me today. For the first time in a very long while I felt...feeble, when compared to my opponent. I never wanted to feel this again; it's why I was willing to risk everything to train with Orochimaru. When I was on the ground today, defeated, vulnerable, I felt a rage I haven't felt since...since I started living with Sakura; since I started building a new life with her.

I feel an arm slide around my shoulders. Think of the angel and she shall appear.

"Hey," she murmurs, Sakura knows I don't like loud noises, especially when I'm angry. "You okay there?"

I don't answer her. It's a stupid question.

She rests her chin on my shoulder. "It wasn't that bad." she tries to console me. "You almost had him when-"

I hit her.

She's on the kitchen floor, gazing up at me with startled eyes. It's like she doesn't realize what just happened; I don't really understand what just happened. Why did I hit Sakura?

I stare at my hand and then back to where her body is splayed on the linoleum. A purple blotch is already starting to bloom across her left cheek. How did it get there? I did that, but how?

"S-sasuke?"

I look back down at her. Her wide eyes scream 'I'm defenseless. I'm fragile. Why did you hurt me? I trust you, why did you hurt me?' The unspoken words claw at what's left of my soul, the soul that Sakura's been healing.

I hold my arms out to her. _I'm sorry; I didn't mean to, I won't do it again._

She scrambles to her feet and throws herself into my embrace and clings to me as she cries.

I think about the day we had together; I remember our date before my duel. She shouldn't be crying like this after a day like today.

_"Sasuke!"_

_I turn to see Sakura running after me, dressed in a kimono today instead of her ninja gear, and carrying a picnic basket. She looks stunning; even as she trips and falls over the edge of her garment. _

_I don't let her hit the ground of course. I swoop in at the last second and catch her before her face hits the dusty street. She looks around with a bemused tilt to her head when she finds herself in my arms, the basket on her lap. _

_She looks at me with a question on her face. Sakura can say a million words to with just an expression. This time she wants to know how she got where she is. _

_"You fell again." She blushes strawberry red. _

_"Sorry Sasuke." she says, turning away in embarrassment. "I guess I'm just too klutzy to wear a kimono. I'll go back and change."_

_She tries to get down but finds my hold on her has tightened. She looks back at me again with her questioning eyes. I lean down and whisper in her ear. "I like the kimono. It stays."_

_Her blush deepens and I relish the effect I have on her. Other women's reactions to me don't matter; Sakura's always do. "B-but I'll keep falling all day and you can't carry me forever Sasuke." _

_I smirk down at her. "Who says I can't?"_

Today had been perfect because she hadn't stopped smiling since then. Now I've ruined it.

What's wrong with me?

*x*X*x*

**You know the fire drill people! R&R, stop drop and roll, touch all doors before opening(if they're very hot DON'T open) ect. **


	2. Part II

_**Heyhey there my peoples!**_

_**To those of you who follow my GaaSaku stories: IMMA SOWWEE! I have been working on them both and I know exactly what's gonna happen next in each of them but I'm just having a hard time writing it all out. Never fear though! They are coming along.**_

_**To my readers of this such awesome story I have a few things to say.**_

_**FIRSTEST: After *x*X*x* thingy sometimes the narrator changes so be on your toes! Unlike on my microsoft document I can't use snazzy different fonts to make the difference between Sasuke and Sakura as obvious at first glance...**_

_**A loverly reviewer, little456, commented that this story is slightly confusing and wondered what it was that Sakura was angry at Sasuke about in the first chapter. I am here to tell you that that what she was angry about is actually quite irrelevant to the story and that some of the scenes are only meant to paint the picture of the relationship between the couple and also to show the two different mindsets of Sasuke and Sakura. So little dear don't worry about it! A quote from Matilda, 'just let the words wash over you like music'!**_

_**And ALSO! THANK YOU SO FRICKIN MUCH! I've never gotten so many reviews for a first chapter of a story before and I'm totally PSYCHED! The amazeling people who totally made my universe are: mightypichan; whitexgodess; xhyperanimefreak; FakeMirage; Turtle Girl - Xiao Shi; little456; Tainted Grace; AkaEyes; Ruthenia Sasusaku; and ToxicInsanity! THANKYOU EVERYBODIEZZZZZZZZZZ! And remember! Every 25th 50th reviewer ect. gets a one shot of their request! SO GO GET IT PEOPLES!**_

_**Now, without further ado!**_  
_**authorly loves and all**_  
_**Sarai**_

_**P.S. Don't own crackers, Naruto OR Naruto shaped crackers**_

_**Love the Way You Lie:**_  
_**Part II**_

*x*X*x*

I'm working my way through a tai jutsu dance I created for myself a few weeks ago. It's a version of a traditional katana dance that I altered to fit with my personal long range attacks and hand to hand combat fighting style. I meticulously tailored the movements until the dance was not only dangerous and lethal but also fulfilled my desire for ascetic beauty. When I showed Lady Tsunade she called it 'elegant and ingenious'.

I'm not moving as elegantly as usual today though and I wince internally with every kick and leap as the ache between my legs protests the movements.

Yes, the lovemaking between Sasuke and I _has_ become that frequent. We tango beneath the sheets, all over the house actually, almost every day. Sometimes more than once. I'm living every woman's dream with the man that so many women wanted but didn't get.

I'm living my dream too as a matter of fact, but underneath the dream I know that something is wrong.

When Sasuke first came home, when we finally saw one another again, I saw a spark of madness flash through his eyes. I didn't see it after that for over a year-the best year of my life-but ever since his spar with Naruto, the duel he lost, I've seen more and more sparks everyday. He seems to need me like a drug now, as if I'm the only thing keeping his insanity at bay. I sometimes wonder what would happen if he came home one day and I wasn't there. If, instead of me making dinner for him in the kitchen, he found a note from me that told him not to worry, that I was taking some time for myself. I wonder what he would do, if the madness would take him over completely and he would be like one big chidori that couldn't be stopped.

I'm scared for Sasuke. I'm afraid his grasp on the world is slipping and there's nothing I can do to save him.

I finish the dance in a flurry of explosive sakura blossoms and uncoil slowly from my final position, a feral but seductive looking crouch. I'm panting a little from the exertion but the burn of the air feels nice in my lungs, I love the way it hurts. It reminds me I'm alive.

I'm scared for Sasuke but I'm terrified for myself, terrified because of how much I love him. I don't know if I can truly leave Sasuke, even to save my own life.

*x*X*x*

I collapse on the worn purple couch, completely exhausted by my day at the hospital. I'm not sure if I can get up again to start dinner, my legs don't seem to be working. But still, I can't leave Sasuke to cook for us; I'm too tired to deal with food poisoning.

I try to get up but only manage a feeble roll that just leaves my cheek pressed against the couch cushions even more comfortably than before.

I inhale and Sasuke's cologne fills my nose. We love this couch. It's old and kinda ugly but this is where our entire relationship changed so it means alot to the both of us. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply as I fade back to that day...

_**One Year Ago**_

_"Sasuke!" I gasp into the couch cushion, "p-please stop *gasp* tickling me!"_

_His hands continue their torture and I try vainly to get out from under him. _

_"So," he asks in his perpetual monotone, "You agree my cooking is superior to yours?"_

_"Yes yes! Fine!" His hands still against my sides, "Burnt pork tastes so much better than real food!" _

_The tickling begins again with a vengeance and I am overcome with giggles. _

_Then, so fast I barely register the hands that suddenly grip my waist, he grabs my hips and flips me between his legs so that I'm on my back beneath him, breathless and still hopelessly pinned. _

_There is a scowl on his face as he looks down at me and my aching abdominal suddenly clenches with guilt. Here I am making fun of his cooking when he's probably never bothered to cook for another person in his life. I must really be hurting his feelings!_

_"Oh Sasuke I'm so sorry! It was really great of you to cook for me and here I am making fun of you! I'm so-"_

_I find my words cut off by a sudden, and very welcome, mouth against mine. I hum appreciatively against it and move my lips with his. His kiss is gentler than usual and his torso is hovering just above mine, brushing against my breasts occasionally and sending warm sparks though my body to gather in a crackling ball down between my hip bones. _

_He pulls away and I whimper in confusion; why did he stop? I open my eyes and see his face is only a few inches away from my own and he's...smiling? I blink in confusion and look more carefully at his expression and then deeply into his famous onyx pools. I've never seen this look on his face before, never seen this emotion in his eyes; I'm afraid to name it for fear of being wrong. _

_"Sakura?" His voice is low and hesitant; the puffs of air from his words tickle my skin and make me shiver "will you...move in with me?"_

_My eyes grow wide in shock and I forget the importance of air. He wants me to live with him? That must mean...I focus on his face again in wonder. That must mean that his expression _does_ mean what I had been afraid to hope. That emotion in his eyes...it's love. _

_Sasuke loves me. _

_I raise my hands and cup his face tenderly in my hands. "I love you Sasuke." I draw him down towards me and kiss him slowly before I pull back. "And I would love to move in with you."_

_His features are lit up with a joy I've never seen before and he's staring down at me like I'm some sort of miracle. _

_I giggle nervously, "I should probably start packing right away-"_

_He's kissing me again and the sparks are shooting around my body like firecrackers. _

_"Right after this."_

*x*X*x*

_**More than One Year Ago.**_

I walk down the crowded market street. I don't like it here; there are too many people, too many screaming children, too many twittering women. If I didn't have to get food I would never come at all.

"Hey! Forehead!" I know that screech; it's the voice of Yamanaka. Only she would make such a piercing noise so casually. I turn to confirm my suspicions. Yes, it's her and...who is she dragging behind her?

I only know one person with hair like that.

_Sakura _

She's being towed behind the blonde. If possible, she's even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. Her eyes crinkle as she laughs while her friend tries to force a necklace over her head. I walk towards the pair so I can hear their words, hear her voice.

"Ino Pig! I can't afford that!"

"Sakura, every woman has to have _some_jewelry. It's part of being female! It's in the unwritten code!" The yammering idiot pulls something else off the jewelers table and shoves it in Sakura's face. "Look at this one! It matches your eyes perfectly! Don't tell me you don't want to buy this!"

Sakura takes the object in her hands. "_Want_ to buy and can _afford_ to buy are two different things Pig!" Her voice is wistful though and I want to know what it is that's making her sound like that.

I walk up behind the two women and look over Sakura's shoulder at the necklace she's holding. Ino is right; the color of the tear drop shaped stone matches Sakura's eyes better than anything else I've ever seen.

"She's right." I say quietly. "It's almost perfect."

Sakura is completely rigid now. She knows the sound of my voice better than anyone, even after all this time.

"_Almost_perfect?" Yamanaka rounds on me, the source of the unknown voice, intent on telling me off. "It _is_..."

Her voice fades when she sees my face.

"Hello Sakura", I whisper to the stiff back of the pink headed woman, her remarkable petal colored hair falls softly over her taunt, bare shoulders. "I got the letters you wrote me. They gave them to me while I was in holding."

_They gave me hope. Thank you._

She turns around very slowly but doesn't look up. I wonder why she won't look at my face.

"I'm glad." she murmurs. "They wouldn't let me see you or I would have come myself." She pauses, "Did they...did they drop the charges? I mean I know that you'll have restrictions no matter what but...are you free?"

I hear her voice waver.

"Yes. I'm free."

She finally looks up and her stunning emerald eyes are filled with an overwhelming joy as they meet mine. The look sends a jolt of amazement, awe, _happiness_, into my heart. The emotion fizzes in my chest and soars out to fill all my limbs. I don't understand why it still matters to her. After all the times I tried to kill people she loves, after I was almost _her_ murderer, I don't understand why she still cares. Why she's happy I won't be punished, that I won't be killed.

_I need you. _

The green and silver necklace dangles from her fingers, forgotten in her rush of emotions. I take it and hold the gem up by her eyes, comparing the colors. "It's not perfect, but it's as close as anything can get."

Her eyes are confused at my behavior and I can see her trying to figure out what I'm up to.

Which is fair; last time we saw each other I tried to kill her.

"Sir, how much is this necklace?"

The table vendor has been watching us like a hawk this whole time, obviously concerned that we might try to steal his merchandise. He focuses on me now, and recognition dawns on his sun browned face.

"Nothing you can't afford I'm sure Uchiha-sama. If it would please you to buy the trinket we can discuss the price over here."

I look down at Sakura. The confusion in her expression has been joined by something else, something I want to see more of. Something I _will_ see more of.

"I'll buy it. I know someone who it belongs with."

_Who belongs with me._

*x*X*x*

My feet are heavy tonight as I trudge wearily home though the dark winter night. It's not just the fatigue that's stolen away my strength though. It's the feeling of helpless despair, the result of the losses we suffered at the hospital today.

Four infants. Four infants lost to the mysterious virus that's spread throughout the hospital nursery. The remaining sixteen and their mothers have all been moved to individual, sealed units but already two more are sick and we've yet to find a cure.

I've been forced to go home after staying two extra shifts but don't think I'll be able to sleep. I'm afraid to.

I can still see the four day old baby girl, how she looked when I held her in my arms, trying to get her to drink from a baby bottle to give her mother a well needed rest. Her head is covered in downy black hair and her skin is yellow with the Jaundice that keeps her and her mother in the ward. She's full of spunk though and fights off the unfamiliar bottle with a mighty strength for such a tiny baby.

I can see how she looked in the incubation bed, when her tiny lungs couldn't pull in enough air on their own anymore.

I can see how she looked on the cold metal of the coroners table, waiting to be dissected to try and find the source of the disease. How she looked cut up, like a sacrificed lamb that everyone prayed would give us a way to save the rest.

But she was only the first.

Her name was Kiya.

The stairs seem impossibly long and now I'm huffing with the exertion of climbing them. The door sticks as I try to open it but a good push sends it swooshing open and I'm stumbling inside.

The lights are off. I guess Sasuke must be asleep. That would make sense, it's already well past 2. Still...I would have been nice to come home to comforting arms.

"You're late."

My heart jumps in fright and I spin around to face the speaker. I don't have any chakra left to fight with but I take a fighting stance anyway.

Sprawled out on our couch is Sasuke. Boy does he look pissed.

I sigh and lean back against the wall in relief. "Sasuke, you scared me!"

He continues to glare at me. "Why are you so late?"

I don't like his tone and my mood is already terrible; who is he to glare at me after the day I just had?

"We have an emergency at the hospital." He's getting up off the couch, his snake like grace is more evident than usual. He looks almost predatory.

"And you couldn't bother to send me a message?"

"I was busy!" I stalk into our room and grab my pink pajamas off of the bed, eager to get out of the lab coat and scrubs that carry the reminder of my past twenty four hours. Sasuke follows me in and watches from the door as I yank off my work clothes and slide the pajama's silk over my skin.

"Too busy to tell me where you were?" His voice is low and dangerous but I don't care right now. I'm too emotionally worn for the instinctual warning to register.

I turn to face him and glare furiously; what the hell is going on in his head? I stop myself before I voice the question as realize I don't have the energy for a fight. Instead I move to maneuver around his figure and into the kitchen. I'm hungry and I can't remember the last time I ate anything.

"I didn't have time to think about it! I had too many important things to be worrying about!"

My words earn an instant reaction and his hand is around my upper arm like a vise.

"More important than me?"

I look up at him scathingly as I try to shake the hand on my arm off, disgusted with his blatant conceit. "_Yes_Sasuke! The world, _my_ world, doesn't always revolve around you!"

There's a sudden burst of white pain.

Everything is blurry. I can't see past the stars in my eyes. I think Sasuke hit me. It's certainly not the first time but it's never been this hard before. I'm not sure but I think I'm on the floor; I'm certainly not vertical anymore. There's a ringing in my ears too but my eyesight is coming back now, I see Sasuke crouched above me; his eyes are narrowed in distress.

He sees that I can see him again and speaks gently, as if it wasn't him that just put me on the floor. "I need you Sakura. You can't do things like this to me."

He strokes my cheek as he speaks. I pull away from his hand and a wave of agony breaks over his face. I've never rejected his touch before.

I struggle upright and reach out to grab the doorframe. I use it to get to my feet again and he watches me silently as I come to rest against the wall. My head is throbbing and I feel like I'm about to be sick.

"Other people need me too. I'm a medic nin Sasuke; my life is about taking care of _everyone_."

His hands are on either side of my head now and I'm trapped between the wall and his body.

"I need you more than they do."

I'm staring into his eyes. The sparks are flashing across them in blinding patterns and scarlet is seeping into the black pools. I know I should stop arguing but I _won't_ stop. I'm not going be quiet this time; I have a _voice._

"_No _Sasuke. Today _they_ needed me more."

He's looking at me with eyes like swirls of flame and smoke. I'm feeling the first trickling of fear now; his entire body is taunt and his chest is heaving with frustrated pants. I don't move for fear of shattering him and the explosion that would follow.

It's been a minute now and his eyes have changed. They're staring at me, frigidly furious and deep red, like rubies.

"You aren't going back tomorrow. You'll take a day off and stay with me."

My reaction and my rage are instantaneous.

"No! They _need_ me!"

He looks far too calm now; as if he's patiently explaining something very simple to a confused child.

"Not as much as I do."

I don't remember the last time I was this angry; I know I've never been this angry at Sasuke before. But more than that, my heart is breaking at the callousness I'm seeing; who _is_ this person?

"Yes! They do!" I'm screaming without meaning to and my voice is choked with the tears I'm holding back. "C_hildren_ are _dieing _Sasuke. I'm  
needed-"

He turns around abruptly and moves towards the phone.

"I'll make the call for you."

"_No!_"

I jump over Sasuke and put myself between him and the phone; he will _not _call me in sick! I'm needed; those _children_need me and who knows if the other doctors would let me come back if Sasuke told them that I was too tired? I _will not _loose another baby. Not for anything, not even for Sasuke.

He moves swiftly and his hand is pushing me out of the way but I won't move. I grab his hair and hold on. I won't let him call! _I won't let him control my life!_

His hand is in my own hair now and his fist is twisting against my scalp. I scream with the pain of it and release his blue black hair to scratch at the iron grip. Suddenly his hands aren't in my hair anymore but one is around my wrists and holding me in the air while he reaches for the phone with the other. My limbs are so weak with exhaustion and I feel myself sinking into despair; I'm helpless against Sasuke, I'm not strong enough-

_No!_

I do the only thing I can think of; I bite him and the taste of his blood in my mouth is utterly horrifying but I don't let go. It works; he isn't reaching for the phone anymore, instead he's staring at me in shock. I stare back defiantly and my eyes say it all; _don't you dare pick up that fucking phone_.

I'm flying through the air and I hit the ground with a thud. I try to scramble to get up but Sasuke dove on top on me the second I hit the floor and now he's pinned me beneath him. His hands are fisted in the fabric of my pajama sleeves and he leans in close so his face is inches from my own.

"You're mine Sakura." His voice is an unrecognizable growl, "You belong with me; you live for me and only me. If I say you stay you stay, understand?"

I stare at his eyes, so transfixed horror that I can't seem to form words. What's happening? Where's the man I love?

He twists the fabric of my shirt sleeves more so that the silk gets to tight and bites into my skin.

"_Understand?_"

The slight jolt of pain is enough to wake up my brain and his words break through the ice that had held my voice captive

"_NO!_"

I feel chakra I didn't know I had surge within me and I fight to throw him off. My outburst of vicious strength takes him by surprise and I manage to free myself. My shirt sleeve rips as I spring to my feet and now I'm standing and can see it clenched in his fist. The madness in his eyes is different now; he seems frozen within it. I fill with terror, the madness I'm seeing, there's something about it that tells me to _run_. To get away as fast as I can.

I dash for the door and grab a jacket from the coat rack as I fly by. I don't look back; I'm afraid if I do he'll unfreeze and then I'll never be able to escape.

As the night air hits my skin I realize my face in covered in trails of tears. When did I start crying?

When did my life start shattering?

*x*X*x*

It's been a few minutes since I escaped the house. I'm not sure what to do; I don't want to go walking around town alone like this. I'm so worn and weak that I couldn't take on a puppy, let alone anything actually threatening. If only there was someway to contact someone without going back into the house...

My hands are freezing and I stuff them into the pockets of my jacket. My shaking fingers brush against something small and cold inside the fabric caverns, sending a flash through my memory. I close my hand around the small, forgotten cell phone that Ino had given me weeks ago. I remember now; I remember our conversation that snowy day not so long ago and I wonder if she had imagined this very scenario when she made me take it.

_"Just in case you ever need anything Forehead. If there's ever anything, any time, you call me and I will be right there."_

_I look down at the small, silver object she had set on the table in front of me. "How did you get this? These models aren't supposed to be distributed for at least another six months!"_

_Ino grins coyly, "Well, having Shikamaru for a fiancé does have its perks."_

_I push the phone back towards where she sits. "Ino Pig, I don't need something like this. Sasuke's here to take care of me."_

_Something flickers across her eyes before she smiles again, but I notice the curl of her mouth is forced now. "Yeah yeah I know, but there are just those times when a man won't fit the bill." She pushes it back towards me firmly and fixes me with a stare that says _Take the damn phone if you know what's good for you._ "This is just in case you have one of those times." _

_I sigh but scoop the little nuisance off of the table and slide it into my jacket pocket. It's not like I'll ever have to use it._

My breath makes floating tufts of ice in the air and I dial 1, thankful that Ino put herself on the speed dial because I don't know if I can stop my hand from trembling enough to push more than one button.

Seconds tick by as the ringing sound echoes into my ear, the noise hurts my throbbing head, and I feel the tears freezing in trails down my face.

I hear a crackling sound now. "Sakura?"

"Ino?" my voices hiccups, "Ino can I stay at your house?"

"Sakura are you at home?"

"I'm *hic* standing outside."

There's a rustle of fabric on her end, followed by the slam of a door "Don't move Sakura, I'll be right there."

*x*X*x*

I watch her through the frost on the window. She's standing on the sidewalk in only her coat and the ripped pink pajamas. She shivers from the winter's icy air. I smirk and rub the silk of the sleeve I had torn off between my fingers. It's too cold for her to stay out there long; in a few minutes she'll be back inside, wanting to apologize, and then I'll take her. I won't be gentle, I'll make her beg for forgiveness; make her understand that she's _mine_, make her understand how much I need her, make her remember how much she loves me, how much I-wait, what is she doing? She pulled something from her pocket and now she's holding it to her ear. She's talking into it; is that a phone?

My eyes narrow; where did she get that phone? Her back is to me so I can't read her lips; I want to know what she is saying, who it is she called. She's putting the phone back, she'll come in soon, I'm sure.

It's been a long time now; why isn't she coming inside? It's cold and her chakra levels are low; I'm worried; she could get sick.

I'm waiting, not moving. I'll be right here when she decides to come inside. Maybe I won't punish her tonight; she looks so tired and small. My heart pulls and I want to wrap her up and tuck her into bed. Her shivers are worse now; it shouldn't be much longer til she can't take the cold anymore and if she doesn't come back in on her own quickly I'll go get her myself.

Wait! Who is _that_? Why are Yamanaka and Nara walking up the sidewalk? Why are they talking to Sakura? _Why is she leaving with them?_

Sakura turns to look back at the window. The lights are off and she can't see me through the glass, but I can see her. She's crying. She shouldn't be crying without me. She rubs her sleeve under her eyes and turns away. I'm supposed to wipe away her tears.

I'm screaming now. My hands have clenched around the window frame; I can feel the crunch of the wood as I squeeze it too hard. I'm screaming her name, why isn't she looking back at me?

_Sakura! Sakura! SAKURA!_

But Sakura can't hear me.

Because I'm only screaming inside my head.

*x*X*x*

**_So? The Crazy has begun to come out! Muhahahahahaha!  
Any guesses for what happens next? It's gonna be IN-SANE! Only one chapter left too! EKK!  
ALSO: Did I do a good job? Did it suck? I'm still sooo not used to this style of writing so ConCrit is welcome!  
Anyyyyyyyyyyway you all know the drill! R&R!_**


	3. Part III

**_Please don't pitchfork me! I come bearing a gift!  
I know it's short but I just pumped this out and I wanted to give you guys something. I hope to have more soon!_**

**_Thanks for your support people,  
Rose  
xoxo_**

**_Love the Way You Lie: _**  
**_Part III_**

***x*X*x***

Naruto's hands flex as they clench tighter around his coffee cup. His breathing is strained and I wait for him to gather himself. My story still curls heavy around us, blocking out the rest of the world.

"How..." His voice is low and I can feel the anger and pain he's struggling to master, "How long has he been like this?"

I look down at the table. The varnish is old, the initials of young lovers who've sat in these same seats and left marks of their happiness behind, are scratched into the surface.

"Since you beat him in that duel last spring."

"And you've let yourself live scared for that long? _Why _Sakura?"

I breathe deep and look back up at the blazing, agony filled blue eyes of my friend. "Because...he needs me. And I love him more than I've ever loved myself.

We're sitting in the middle of a vast, pain filled pause; as if we're both belly cut on the field with no way to heal the wound, knowing that death is inevitable.

Or at least that's how I feel. Because my heart has already made its choice.

"We need to get you away from here. Until we can fix him. We can-"

"Naruto," I stop him gently, "He wants me to marry him."

"...what?"

I pull a folded up letter out of my pocket, the creases are soft from being opened and refolded so many times, and hold it out to him.

"He gave this to Ino a week after I left. I wouldn't see him so he wrote it and waited outside her door for three days until she agreed to give it to me."

I watch Naruto read as he reads over the letter. It's not long and I have the words memorized so I almost feel as if I'm looking at the aristocratic script with him.

_Sakura, _

_I'm sorry. I've made promises to you and broken them. I've hurt you. You have no reason to trust me but I have one more promise that I want to make and I hope that you will trust it. _

_I want to marry you. _

Naruto looks up at me and his face twists in horror when our eyes meet. He knows what my answer is.

"I'm going to tell him today."

"Sakura you can't do this. You-"

"Naruto I want you to be at my wedding. Will you come?"

Naruto is on his feet, hands planted angrily on the table and leaning towards me.

"Sakura I won't let you do this! You don't know what you're doing!"

I stay seated, looking up at him with tired eyes.

"Yes Naruto, I do."

He stares at me. Frantic with fear for one of the only family members he's ever had he can't slow the pace of his breathing and I can see him working to rein in the animalistic instincts that scream at him to seek and destroy the source of the danger.

"Please Sakura" His voice catches on the whispered plea and my eyes well up with regret and guilt for the fear and pain that I'm causing him. For the hurt that I'm forcing on him.

"I'm sorry Naruto."

***x*X*x***

The pool of despair I'm floating in is devouring me. Like acid it works slowly, eating through the skin of my sanity to reach the core of my being, the agony even more intense because it's all I have to hold onto. Because as long as I feel the pain I can feel the hope I'm clutching to my heart.

It's been a week. She still hasn't responded to my letter.

How long? I can't even leave the house now for fear not being here if she comes. Can barely leave the couch where I keep my desperate vigil. Constantly on alert my entire body is rigidly locked in place-I've barely slept in two weeks. I don't feel hunger, I barely feel thirst. I don't have the ability to process time anymore. I only know that, with each cycle of light and dark that filters through the sheer white curtains that Sakura hung in our first week in this house, another day has passed.

_Tap...taptaptap. _

I'm at the door before the sound of the second knock and I open it with shaking hands.

_It's her. _

Her hair gleams in the fading light of the evening sun, clean and soft it hides the expression of her face as she looks down at her feet.

Standing here we're both silent. I'm drowning in a sudden flood of magma that sears through my lungs and makes me dizzy with the lack of oxygen. My eyes are searching for _something_ to cling to, something that will tell me why she's come.

_There. _

An emerald tear rests in the hollow of her throat. Sadness and hope sings with every glint of refracted light and my heart leaps. She's wearing the necklace I gave her.

Thoughtless, I'm reaching out towards the stone. It feels like a promise and I only need to touch it to make it a reality. My hand is slow and hesitant, the air feels fragile and the moment could shatter with a single breath.

My fingers brush against the jewel and then, whisper soft, my finger ghosts over the skin of her throat before I let my arm fall down to my side.

She's opening her hands and I see the folded piece of paper she's holding. Her head turns up and her gaze holds mine. She's watching me and I can't read what her eyes are saying. It's frightening.

_What is she saying?_

I open my mouth to try and say something but my voice is trapped. I can't-

Sakura's nodding at me and a tiny smile lifts the corner of her mouth.

She's in my arms and there are no thoughts anymore.

Joy needs no thoughts.

***x*X*x***

**It's not much but just know that I haven't given up on this story! Life's just been a crazy crazy mess.  
Let me know what you think! It's still soooo freaking hard to write this way so I don't feel uperdy duperdy confident about it. :P**


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